Wireless networks rely on ‘free space’ radio wave based technology to enable communications between devices in a limited area. Wireless networks also provide users with mobility to move around within a broad coverage area and still be connected to the network. Wireless local area networks (LAN) typically include stations wirelessly connected to access points to access a wired network.
In contrast, optical communications rely on optical waveguides to transmit an optical signal between static nodes (i.e., non-mobile). An optical communications system may include a transmitter, which modulates a message onto an optical carrier wave signal, an optical waveguide (e.g., optical fiber), which carries the signal to its destination, and a receiver, which demodulates and reproduces the message from the received optical signal.